Williams revealed the livery for their 2023 car, the FW45 and team of new faces. Alex Albon returns for his second season alongside debutant Logan Sargeant and new Team Principal James Vowels,
The striking blue livery of the FW45 featured new sponsors like Gulf Oil, Stephens, Michelob and PureStream. But Albon’s helmet did not feature the branding of Red Bull.
The Thai racer left Red Bull after signing a new contract with Williams. But until last year, Albon had a personal sponsorship with the Thai division of the Energy drinks brand.
Being a Thai national, Albon has been supported by the Red Bull group since 2012. However, it seems that their decade-long partnership has come to an end.
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Red Bull ends sponsorship for Alex Albon
In August 2022, Alex Albon signed a new multi-year contract with Williams. His performance was deemed impressive by the team despite taking a 1-year hiatus from the sport in 2021.
However, during the 2022 livery launch fans noticed Albon’s helmet still sporting a giant Red Bull logo. This opened up questions as Williams are a partner team of Red Bull’s arch rivals Mercedes.
The team principal Jost Capito dismissed it saying, “Alex has a contract with the Thai division of Red Bull, which has been his personal sponsor throughout his career. He has the right to have personal sponsors.”
The absence of the Red Bull logo indicates that Alex’s affiliation with Red Bull is officially over. The driver himself claimed he felt more of a Williams driver after his new deal.
In his statement, he said, “I had a link with Red Bull through this year. I still have a great relationship with them and they’ve always been really supportive of me. But now it’s more of a focus with Williams.”
Interestingly, Albon’s name is on Red Bull’s website as an official athlete. The Thai driver’s helmet features the logo of Monsoon Valley, Chalerm Yoovidhya, the eldest son of Red Bull’s creator.
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Albon’s long history with Red Bull
Alex Albon became a part of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2012. Since his junior formula days, the Red Bull group have sponsored the Thai driver.
He would make his F1 debut in 2019 with Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team. However, just 12 races in, Albon would be promoted with a racing seat in the main team.
Albon’s impressive debut campaign convinced Red Bull to hold on to him for 2020. Unfortunately, the driver’s inconsistent results and inability to produce results close to Max Verstappen’s resulted in Albon being replaced with Sergio Perez for 2021.
Albon was a test and reserve driver for Red Bull in 2021 and raced in DTM. However, towards the end of 2021, he was offered a full-time racing seat at Williams.
He would join Williams on loan for the 2022 season. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that Albon’s loan included “a link to Red Bull” and that the team could recall him for 2023. But with the Thai driver signing a new contract with Williams, he finally ends a long chapter of his racing career.
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